Adoption's New Frontier

'Snowflake' Babies Adopted For Personal, Political Reasons

(CBS) 
She advocated research using other types of stem cells that do not require the destruction of embryos. "We plead with Congress not to force millions of American like me to violate our consciences and participate in another form of genocide, especially when the advances possible with other stem cells are not nearly exhausted."

Immediately moved by Marlene's story, Paige and Stuart knew embryo adoption would be their way of starting a family. Through Nightlight Christian Adoptions, the Faulks were matched with a couple in Colorado who had excess embryos from attempts at in vitro fertilization. The embryo adoption process is much like a birth adoption where the genetic family screens prospective parents. In other words, the family in Colorado handpicked Paige and Stuart to birth and parent their frozen embryos.

The Faulks adopted eight embryos from that family in Colorado; four of those embryos were thawed and two survived the thaw. One of those two embryos, a six-day old cluster of cells, would result in the birth of their daughter. After five frozen years, Noelle was born on May 22, 2003.

The four remaining embryos were thawed the following March. Though weak, all survived the thaw and were implanted, but none resulted in a pregnancy.

Paige said, "I disagree with using frozen embryos for science, because I believe it's killing a life," as she pointed to her young child. "I don't believe that we need to kill something in order to find ways of repairing or fixing other things, and that we can continue to use the gifts that God has given us."

While arguments continue in many arenas in this country, the issue seems simple for Paige and Stuart: life begins at conception, and any frozen embryo destroyed in science is a life that is killed. When one's daughter was once one of those embryos, it does not appear to be that difficult to understand. As Paige said, "It is not our place to decide when life is life. Our faith beliefs do play a part in our decisions on those issues." She also noted, "We're just Christians trying to do what we believe in."

In fact, faith has played a large part in the embryo adoption process for many people. After all, Nightlight Adoptions is a non-profit Christian organization, and on its Web site says, "The Bible talks about us being 'adopted into God's family.' Moses was adopted by the Pharoah's daughter," and then continues to write about the possibility of embryo adoption, describing embryos as, "Pre-born children waiting -- waiting."

But, there is another side to embryo adoption, one that transcends religious identity and avoids the political debate about life, even if that proves to be difficult. For some women, embryo adoption is just their way of fulfilling the dream of pregnancy and childbirth. It is also an affordable option, compared to the extensive fees involved in traditional adoptions.